


blue moon, once in a

by genes1s



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Bathing/Washing, Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Canon Universe, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26011663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genes1s/pseuds/genes1s
Summary: Levi’s squad dies. Erwin gives him a bath.
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Comments: 6
Kudos: 108





	blue moon, once in a

Together five years. Dead in six minutes.

He saw Gunther in the mess hall. He saw Olou in the infirmary. The back of Mike’s head looked just like Eld’s. Petra haunts his mirror.

Levi sets the water to boil. In front of the other soliders, he hid the tremor in his fingers well enough. Now alone, his bones rattle down to the spine. 

Water sloshes from the pot and soaks the floorboards. No need to clean it up; it’ll dry within the hour. The blood in his cape is here to stay.

A knock rocks the door. He’d left it ajar - Petra was forever too nervous to knock - and a large hand peaks through.

“Yes?” Levi calls. No sound escapes his lips. He tries again.

“Levi,” Erwin greets, stepping into the room. His boots echo through the floorboards.

Levi tries to offer him tea, but his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth. Copper chokes his throat. His eyes seethe.

Instead he raises a teacup - Erwin’s usual - and extends it outwards. The ruby engravings catch the light.

Erwin nods. He takes a seat and watches Levi rifle for the tea leaves. They’re exactly where he left them. 

The water boils with a hiss. He wraps his fingers around the handle, his wrist bending from the weight of the pot. He’d boiled enough for five.

The leaves dance in circles as he fills the pair of cups. They bleed into the water, staining the liquid a deep brown. One per hand, he carries them to the table. The cups burn his palms. His blood runs cold.

Heavy numbness seizes his feet. It claws up his calves, shutting down his thighs. His hips collapse with the weight of iron anchors. His knees strike the floor. 

A shatter rips through the still air of the room. Erwin hurries to his feet. Fire engulfes Levi’s hands as china shards litter the floor, their contents turning his skin crimson.

He keels forward, leather biting into the backs of his knees. Damp oak clogs his nose as his forehead meets the floor.

Warm fingers clutch his neck. Erwin travels the expanse his back, every ridge of his spine and muscle of his shoulder, his palms spreading warmth with every touch. Erwin convinces the numbness to retreat.

He can’t hide from every soldier.

“Let’s run you a bath.” Erwin hooks him under the arms and pulls him to his feet. He takes a chair in one hand and guides Levi to the tub with the other.

Erwin sets him in the chair and returns to the bedroom. The mess doesn’t take him long to clear. He stares at the broken pieces gathered in his palms before dropping them into the bin.

When Erwin returns, he begins preparing the water. Shucking off his jacket, he hangs it on the door and rolls up his shirt sleeves.

He crouches at an angle where Levi is always in sight. Levi presses his calves to the hard wood chairlegs and breaths in steam through his nose. Once the bath is full, Erwin returns to his side and kneels at his feet.

“May I?” He asks, gazing up at Levi with close brows and wide eyes. Levi nods and grips the sides of the chair.

Erwin starts with his boots. His fingers bury under the leather, tugging them off with one precise pull. Levi’s harness is next. Deft hands remove every strap and buckle in a single flick. Marvellous. Erwin discards it on the floor with a clink.

When he’s stripped to his trousers, Erwin holds him by the hips and lifts him to his feet. Levi observes the flickering candle over his shoulder as Erwin fumbles for his trouser buckle. Embarrassment feels foreign; nudity is the least of his concerns tonight.

His trousers hit the floor with a thud. The evening chill raises every hair over his naked body. Erwin’s hand guiding him to the bath sets his skin ablaze.

Levi dips a toe into the scolding water. He sinks it all the way to the bottom, then slips from Erwin’s grip. Erwin kneels beside the bath.

The water burns away old blood and flaked mud. Red and brown merges to create the remains of a battlefield. His throat sticks.

Erwin palms his feverish skin, reopening his lungs. He leans back until his head skims Erwin’s chin. His breath rustles Levi’s hair. Levi follows its steady pace.

Erwin rubs soap into his skin. His callouses break up most of the grime just as well as his nails. Scarlet runs in rivulets over Levi’s legs. He pulls up his knees so the water drips away.

The fingers rise to scalp, kneading the dirt from his hair, lingering to massage his aches. Levi sighs and runs his finger through the droplets collecting on the side of the bath.

Closing his eyes is mistake. Four pale faces stare back at him, carved into the backs of his lids.

He shoots them open with a gasp. Soap burns through his lashes, but he can’t shut his eyes to rid the sting without seeing a nightmare.

Thumbs trail up his cheeks, wiping at his eyes until they’re raw. Levi bites his lip. Erwin retracts his hands and slinks away.

Birds hum their goodnight’s through the open window. The jacket hanging from the door sways in the breeze.

Warm breath flutters across the nape of his neck. The floorboards creek under Erwin’s shifting weight. He settles behind the tub, at the back of Levi’s head.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

Levi grips the sides of the bath, bones peeking through the knuckles. “You promised me. No regrets.”

Erwin’s heavy hands coil around his shoulders and clasp at his flushed chest. He buries his nose into Levi’s collarbone, his lashes ticking Levi’s skin. Each breath sends shivers to his gut. 

He leans back to rest his head on Erwin’s shoulder. Erwin sighs into his neck. Reaching back, Levi graps Erwin’s forearms and holds on tight. 

He shuts his eyes, and says goodbye.


End file.
